Since 2010, the Half in Ten campaign has tracked its progress toward achieving its goal of cutting poverty in half in 10 years by examining 21 different indicators of economic security and opportunity. We began this project in the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession, which technically ended in June 2009. Monitoring our indicators since then we have seen evidence of a slowly recovering economy with improving unemployment rates, yet far too many indicators have remained virtually stagnant for years.
Between 2012 and 2013, the percentage of Americans with incomes below the poverty line—a mere $18,552 per year for a family of three—declined slightly, from 15 percent to 14.5 percent